A Homunculus's Weakness
by SoThereWasThisRaccoon
Summary: Why do we Homunculi have red lines and nodes covering our bodies? Father never explained it to us...Why is it that new Greed and Wrath don't have them, and what about Pride? *SPOILER episode 48/volume 21 onwards* Rated T because I'm paranoid.


Hello one and all! I'm proud to introduce to you my first fanfiction! (Not counting my Romeo and Juliet poem. I did that for English class and uploaded it so I would have SOMETHING on my account until I uploaded something else!) :) I really hope you like this! I actually got the idea from Moofy-fan's "Stripes" in her fanfiction, "Scattered Snippets of the Soul." I always wondered why the homunculi had the red lines and nodes on their bodies, in addition to the ouroboros tattoos. Not to mention that the human-bound homunculi don't have them. It's odd that Ed or the others never mentioned them, so this is my interpretation of it!

P.S I want to thank my friend **KoreanCeal** and others who don't have a fanfiction account (sadness...T-T) for the critique and moral support. Additionally, I want to thank the power outage at my school that gave me the time to write this!

Full Metal Alchemist belongs to *looks up how to spell author's name on Wikipedia* Hiromu Arakawa, who is amazing for it! Nevertheless, this story is mine and MINE ALONE! MWAHAHA! (sorry, i think i'm high on life right now...)

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><p>Gluttony trudged on through the thick forest sniffing out the scent of the Full Metal Alchemist's younger brother. Father wanted him and older brother Pride to find and capture him in order to lure out blonde-haired alchemist. He watched as Pride walked in front of him –he insisted on leading the way –who occasionally sliced through trees with his shadows whenever foliage blocked their path. It was nighttime, and the shadows flickered in the moonlight, blending in and out in the surrounding darkness.<p>

Finally getting bored after a few minutes, the hungry homunculus stared at the red lines that ran across his big arms and the single, large red dot that was on each of his wide shoulders. He always wondered why he and his siblings had them…

"Hey, Pride?" Gluttony asked, his curiosity overcoming him. "Why do we have these red lines and dots on our bodies? Father never told us…"

He heard a sigh of annoyance as a response. The truth was that the child-like homunculus hadn't really thought about it much himself –not that he would admit it. _But honestly, _Pride thought._ Why should it matter if Father told us or not? It's pretty obvious what their purpose is anyways. _Nevertheless, he responded, albeit contemptuously, "The red lines represent where the energy of the philosopher stone flows through us and the _nodes,"_ he emphasized, "mark the pressure points in which energy flow can be cut off, which causes our regeneration to halt as well." Throughout his explanation, Pride didn't slow down one bit, or even bothered to look back to see his stupid brother's eyes widen with realization. Besides, fulfilling Father's wish was more important, after all.

Gluttony then exclaimed excitedly, "So that's why Greed didn't want break out of those metal chains over that giant pot full of bubbling stuff! Wrath put his sharp metal sticks through his…n…o…d…e…s?" Pride rolled his eyes at his imbecility. The useless oaf acted like he just discovered the most extraordinary quandary in Amestris.

But Gluttony was still confused. He was ravenous for answers; if he couldn't eat the armored boy, he needed something to fill the void. His eyes squinted together from the brainwork. "But why do only me, Lust, Envy, Sloth, and Greed have them? Wrath and new Greed don't have them at all."

"That's because they're human-based homunculi; humans don't have them. Only homunculi originally created by Father have them," Pride explained in the simplest way possible.

"Wait, Pride…then why don't you have them? Could it be that you're also huma –"

Pride stopped dead in his tracks, transforming his shadows into multiple spikes, their eyes wide and flaring, teeth threatening and deadly sharp. Gluttony screamed in pain, for two of the materialized shadows circled around him and impaled him through his nodes. The remaining shadows surrounded around him menacingly, teeth ground sharp. _How __**dare **__he mistake me for being anything close to human! I'll make him pay…I-I don't have those lines and nodes because _I'm_ the first homunculus and Father's favorite son. _Of course _he wouldn't give me them. Father blessed me with this container liberated from such a despicable weakness…_

Pride made sure to take his time in relishing the swine's agony.

"N-no, please stop Pride! It hurts!" Blood was flowing from his wounds, which the shadows licked ravenously. The child-like homunculus looked down maliciously at his younger brother. Then, he switched his container's expression to one of composure, very much unlike his shadows, which always showed his raw emotions. "**Just remember this you utter fool,"** his voice gaining its metallic sound. **I'm not lowly like you." **He retracted his shadows from the nodes, allowing Gluttony to regenerate. He began crying uncontrollably. _How pathetic,_ Pride thought._ He isn't fit to be a homunculus. He's a disgrace to our family, and more importantly, Father._ Then, Pride then looked around in uneasiness, for he could see the faint glow of the city nearby. It would bad if Gluttony's crying was heard by humans…

The devious monster then told the whimpering heap, "If you can _actually_ help me capture Alphonse AND Edward Elric, I'll let you eat anyone that accompanies them." Gluttony perked up at that. If he could prove that he's useful, big brother Pride won't be mad at him anymore! And if he did mess up again, he would try to convince him that Father could always heal them as a last resort.

"Pride," Gluttony said with glee. "I can smell him! I smell the armored boy!"

Pride's shadows slithered ahead. Through them, Pride saw the Resembool train station. He smirked. His brother was simple-minded, really, but what more could he expect from the physical incarnation of Gluttony. It's as if he completely forgot he attacked him. _But,_ Pride thought to himself, _if you ever fail again, I might just have to eat _you.

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><p>Ta-da! I hope you all liked it! :D<p>

It was interesting that, in the manga, when Pride was about to eat Gluttony (Yes, this is the spoiler! xD), Gluttony seemed to act like Pride threatened him sometime before; thus, I wanted to create a story that foreshadowed it! Duh duh DUH!

My goal for this story is to get at least 5 reviews. (I hope that that's not a long-shot...) I'm open to any type of criticism/ advice! Even a simple "good job" or "you suck!" will do, although I'd prefer not to use the latter without an explanation! xD Please review! If you do, I'll be more happy than a rainbow bunny wearing a sombrero! ():-) (This looks more like a witch's hat, but you get the idea. It's perfect for Halloween! :D) (Alright! Why isn't the little triangle thingy appearing on my smiley's hat? I think technology hates me...) Ok, I digress, R&R!


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